Phanpy Line/GSC
Phanpy and Donphan can both be found on Route 45 in Crystal; Donphan cannot be found at night. In Silver, Phanpy can be found on Route 45 and Donphan can be found in Victory Road, on Route 28 and on Mt. Silver. In Crystal, Phanpy can also be found on Route 46 in the morning. One of the rarest Pokémon in Johto, though also one of the best physical tanks of the game. Donphan's sturdiness is nearly unrivalled, and its evolution happens soon enough to consistently maintain the bulk throughout the adventure. Curse further improves both its offensive and defensive capabilities in the postgame. Despite its base stats, however, Donphan is not quite as good as it may seem, due to context: Water-types roam the region far and wide, and special sweepers are fairly common, especially in the late game. Having next to no weapons to hit them with and a low Speed, there is little that Donphan can accomplish when it finds itself at a type disadvantage, or against the likes of Alakazam. Its role is very specific: it takes and delivers physical hits, and does so well, but it is also very hard to work with outside of its comfort zone. Important Matchups Johto * Gym #1 - Falkner (Violet City, Flying-type): Phanpy's Tackle easily outmatches Pidgey's, but in order to also beat Pidgeotto, it needs to stack up Defense Curls before defeating Falkner's lead. Only a +4 or higher in Defense grants Phanpy a potential winning hand against Pidgeotto, depending on how many Mud-Slaps are used and how often Phanpy manages to hit. * Gym #2 - Bugsy (Azalea Town, Bug-type): Tackle can eventually beat Metapod and Kakuna, though their Harden usage may make the fight very long; if Phanpy is eventually outdamaged, though, it can use its own Defense Curl to compensate. Phanpy should preferably not fight against Scyther, instead; even with a full +6 Defense setup, Scyther's Fury Cutter would reach the maximum base power at least once, if not twice, and any one critical hit from the higher stages can easily terminate Phanpy. * Rival (Azalea Town): There is no way for Phanpy to deal damage to Gastly, unless it knows Mud-Slap; in that case, the move 2-3HKOs. Zubat eventually goes down to Tackle, but its Supersonic may get in the way of Phanpy actually hitting on occasion. Mud-Slap may also potentially win Phanpy the matchup against Quilava, if it misses Ember at least once; however, Phanpy cannot deal with Bayleef or Croconaw, both of which have strong super effective STAB moves. * Gym #3 - Whitney (Goldenrod City, Normal-type): Phanpy scores a relatively safe 3HKO against Clefairy with Return; even strong super effective moves that Metronome may pull, such as Hydro Pump, can only 2HKO Phanpy, though Explosion is a guaranteed OHKO. Phanpy may attempt to fight against Miltank, too, but needs to spam Defense Curl until its stat hits +4 or higher, hoping no critical hits will occur; only a substantial amount of Defense boosts can prevent it from falling to Stomp or Rollout before Return gets the job done. Mud-Slap is helpful against Miltank, as it facilitates breaking the Rollout stack. * Rival (Burned Tower): Mud-Slap can beat Haunter despite its Curse-trap combination, since the self-inflicted Curse damage stacked with Mud-Slap beats Haunter in three turns. Zubat can be 3HKOed with Return, though it also knows Confuse Ray, which makes hitting it more difficult; same for Magnemite, 2HKOed by Mud-Slap instead. Quilava can be weakened with one or two Mud-Slaps first and then whittled down with Return, which makes it less likely for it to land its SmokeScreens or Embers; Bayleef and Croconaw remain out of Phanpy's league. * Gym #4 - Morty (Ecruteak City, Ghost-type): Donphan's Mud-Slap 2HKOs Gastly, 3HKOs both of the Haunter and 4HKOs Gengar. Extra carefulness is required against the level 21 Haunter which, with a combination of Hypnosis, Curse and Mimic, may copy Donphan's Mud-Slap and wear it down with Night Shade; the absence of Mean Look in its moveset makes it easy to switch out of, though. Gengar has Mean Look instead, and should be faced only with a quantity of Awakenings ready; its Dream Eater is a dangerous 3HKO. * Eusine (Cianwood City, Crystal only): Donphan easily 2HKOs Drowzee with Return. Haunter and Electrode are 3HKOed by Mud-Slap and Return, respectively. * Gym #5 - Chuck (Cianwood City, Fighting-type): Return is a 2-3HKO against Primeape, but Donphan cannot beat Poliwrath; its Surf 2HKOs, and Poliwrath also outspeeds. * Gym #6 - Jasmine (Olivine City, Steel-type): Donphan's Mud-Slap 2HKOs both of the Magnemite. Steelix cannot be defeated: there are no good Ground moves available to beat it, and its Iron Tail is far stronger than anything Donphan can learn. * Rocket Executive battle #1 (Team Rocket HQ): An already evolved Donphan close to level 30 or thereabouts easily 2HKOs all of the Executive's team with Return. None of their moves represents a threat, since even Koffing's Selfdestruct cannot OHKO a fully healthy Donphan even with a critical hit. * Rocket Executive battle #2 (Team Rocket HQ): Donphan's Return nets a 2-3HKO against Arbok and Gloom, and a clean 2HKO against Murkrow. Even Gloom's Absorb is pathetically weak against Donphan. * Gym #7 - Pryce (Mahogany Town, Ice-type): Donphan 2-3HKOs Seel with Return; even its Aurora Beam is relatively non-threatening, though repeated Attack drops would compromise the matchup. However, Return falls short against both Dewgong and Piloswine, which annihilate Donphan with Aurora Beam and Blizzard respectively. * Rocket Executive battle #3 (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Donphan can averagely 2-3HKO all the Koffing with Return; if the move is in the 2HKO range, it will likely be able to beat them all, while the 3HKO range makes it more difficult, as it may be taking their Selfdestructs along the way. Donphan can only tank one Selfdestruct, and must heal or switch out after it. It is also poorly equipped against Weezing, which can take up to three hits and kill with Explosion anywhere below 80% of Donphan's health. * Rival (Goldenrod Underground): Donphan beats Golbat and Sneasel with Return, a 2-3HKO against both; Mud-Slap is a 2HKO against Magnemite and a 3HKO against Haunter. Quilava is also 2-3HKOed by Return; Donphan can even match up to Meganium or Feraligatr: the former no longer knows STAB Grass moves, and the latter only has Water Gun, which is slightly weaker than Return. Against Feraligatr, however, Donphan will likely need some healing, since it will be outsped. * Rocket Executive battle #4 (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Return 3HKOs Arbok and Vileplume and 2HKOs Murkrow. * Rocket Executive battle #5 (Goldenrod Radio Tower): Return 2HKOs Houndour and 3HKOs Koffing and Houndoom. None of their moves can threaten Donphan; Koffing does not even have Selfdestruct or Explosion. * Suicune (Bell Tower, Crystal only): No. Donphan gets 2HKOed by BubbleBeam even without Rain Dance in play. * Gym #8 - Clair (Blackthorn City, Dragon-type): Donphan is at loss against this gym. Two of the three Dragonair sport moves that are super effective against Ground, and so does Kingdra. The Dragonair with Thunderbolt can be 3HKOed with Return instead. * Rival (Victory Road): Return 2HKOs Sneasel and Kadabra, and 3HKOs Golbat and Typhlosion. Magneton is best fought with a Ground move available, though it is largely innocuous for Donphan, and can even be simply whittled down with Return. Haunter can only be defeated with Ground moves, instead. Meganium and Feraligatr both have super effective moves which can defeat Donphan easily. * Elite Four Will (Indigo Plateau, Psychic-type): Donphan can 2-3HKO both of the Xatu with Return; the move can 3HKO Exeggutor as well, which does not know any Grass moves, but its Reflect can get in the way of Donphan sweeping the rest of Will's team, so it is recommended to beat it with a Pokémon that knows a super effective move. Slowbro can be 2-3HKOed by Earthquake, having no Water moves, and Donphan may also be able to beat Jynx, if it manages to score the OHKO; if Earthquake does not OHKO, a switch will be required, as Jynx's own Ice Punch can 2HKO. * Elite Four Koga (Indigo Plateau, Poison-type): Earthquake 2HKOs Ariados and Venomoth and OHKOs Muk. Crobat is 3HKOed by Return, though its Double Team and Toxic combination makes the battle very difficult without healing. Forretress is 3HKOed by Earthquake, but Donphan needs to remain above 75% of its health to withstand a full-power Explosion, and a critical hit will still kill. * Elite Four Bruno (Indigo Plateau, Fighting-type): Earthquake scores a clean 2HKO against all of Bruno's Pokémon, with a possible OHKO against Onix, though it is not certain against Machamp (3HKO also possible). Either way, Machamp's Cross Chop cannot 3HKO without any critical hits, so Donphan is safe. * Elite Four Karen (Indigo Plateau, Dark-type): Umbreon is 3HKOed by Earthquake, though its Confuse Ray and Sand-Attack combination is annoying; healing items, including Bitter Berries, and an X Accuracy are recommended. Vileplume is 2HKOed by Earthquake before it can 2HKO with Petal Dance. Gengar and Houndoom are both OHKOed, but Gengar should be hit only if paralysed, because it may otherwise take Donphan down with Destiny Bond. Murkrow is 2HKOed by Return. * Champion Lance (Indigo Plateau, Flying-type): Gyarados and all three of the Dragonite overwhelm Donphan with their special moves, and Charizard wins due to being faster and outpowering Donphan's Return with Flamethrower. Donphan may only fight against Aerodactyl, and it is still not recommended, as its most effective weapon is the weak resisted Return. Kanto From this point onwards, you can fight the gyms in any order, though you will need to retrieve the Machine Parts from the Cerulean City gym before you have access to the earlier portion of Kanto. Feel free to anticipate or postpone any battles as needed. * Gym #9 - Brock (Pewter City, Rock-type): Donphan can OHKO all of Brock's Pokémon with Earthquake after just one Curse, which can be used against Graveler, as its Rollout and Earthquake are no trouble at all for Donphan's great Defense. However, it needs to be above 70% of its health to take a Surf from Omastar, and above half for Kabutops, for the same reason; if these conditions are not met, Donphan will need to swap out. * Rival (Mt. Moon, optional): Earthquake OHKOs Magneton, Gengar and Typhlosion; it can also 1-2HKO Sneasel and Alakazam, but Alakazam outspeeds Donphan and knows Reflect, which may make the battle longer. Golbat is 2-3HKOed by Return. Feraligatr can be 2-3HKOed by Earthquake, since its only STAB move is Water Gun, but Meganium's Razor Leaf is far superior to any of Donphan's moves. * Gym #10 - Misty (Cerulean City, Water-type): Donphan can 2HKO Quagsire with Earthquake, but every other Pokémon on Misty's team 2HKOs it with Surf. * Gym #11 - Lt. Surge (Vermilion City, Electric-type): Earthquake OHKOs all of Lt. Surge's Pokémon without any setups, though it is recommended to still use Curse at least once (preferably twice), to lessen the damage taken from Electrode's possible Explosion. * Gym #12 - Erika (Celadon City, Grass-type): Donphan may manage to 2HKO Victreebel with Earthquake and/or 2-3HKO Jumpluff with Return, as they are the least threatening Pokémon on Erika's team. It should come nowhere close to Tangela and Bellossom, however. * Gym #13 - Janine (Fuchsia City, Poison-type): Crobat is 2HKOed by Return, but Donphan should not attempt to use Curse against it, because it knows Screech. One Curse is enough against any other Pokémon on Janine's team; the two Weezing and Ariados are OHKOed even without setups, but Venomoth can be OHKOed only at +1. * Gym #14 - Sabrina (Saffron City, Psychic-type): Donphan can only afford one Curse against Espeon, which makes Earthquake a likely OHKO; the move also OHKOs Mr. Mime at +1. It will then need to be healed against Alakazam, before netting yet another OHKO. If Mr. Mime or Alakazam use Reflect, the move will only be a 2HKO, though this is not influential against Alakazam, since the extra turn used will not impact on Donphan's health. * Gym #15 - Blaine (Seafoam Islands, Fire-type): Everything is OHKOed by Earthquake and nothing hurts. * Gym #16 - Blue (Viridian City): The optimal setup envisions using Curse twice against Pidgeot, then 2HKOing it with Return. This may only happen if Pidgeot does not use Whirlwind. Earthquake can OHKO Alakazam, but only after the Curse setup; without it, it would likely use Reflect and then 3HKO Donphan with Psychic. Rhydon can also be used as setup material; at +2, Donphan OHKOs it with Earthquake. Arcanine is OHKOed after Curse, 2HKOed without. In order to beat Gyarados and Exeggutor, Donphan needs to have a prior full +6 Curse setup; Gyarados' Surf 2HKOs, and the two-turn SolarBeam OHKOs, meaning Donphan needs to OHKO both Pokémon to survive. * Rival (Indigo Plateau, optional): Earthquake remains an OHKO against Magneton and Gengar, and a 2HKO against Sneasel, Typhlosion and Alakazam; the latter still knows Reflect, which may once again make the battle longer. Crobat can be beaten with Return, but not without healing, as it knows Confuse Ray and Toxic and Donphan will have a hard time hitting. Meganium and Feraligatr are both off limits, due to their strong STAB moves. * Red (Mt. Silver): Pikachu is annihilated by Earthquake; Espeon is 2HKOed by it without Reflect, though Reflect can turn it into a 3HKO. Its Psychic is also a 3HKO, however, so Donphan can still win. Snorlax provides the setup material that Pikachu, with its Charm, does not; spamming Curse against Snorlax will make the rest of the fight easier for Donphan, allowing an Earthquake OHKO at +6. Six Curses also grant a Return OHKO against Charizard; Earthquake will also OHKO Venusaur and Blastoise in that case, though both of them can inflict severe damage on Donphan, which needs to be above 50% of its health to take a Giga Drain and above 70% to take a Surf. Moves Phanpy's initial moves are just Tackle and Growl at its lowest level. The next move is Defense Curl, learned at level 9; it makes Phanpy quite sturdy early on, though no better damaging moves come around until the relatively bad Flail, at level 17. The last move learned before evolution is Take Down, at level 25, outclassed by the already available Return and Strength. Upon evolving, at level 25, Donphan gets Fury Attack, possibly its worst damaging move. Rollout, at level 33, is fairly risky to use against any team with special attackers, and thus not recommended, even though it is the only non-Normal move Donphan learns until its last level up move. Rapid Spin comes at level 41, but it is entirely useless in the game, as there are nearly no Pokémon that can set up entry hazards. Finally, at level 49, Donphan gets Earthquake, a must have. Donphan's TM pool is not very wide. Early on, it can learn Headbutt in place of Tackle; shortly after, Return becomes available, and this is going to be Donphan's best offensive move until Earthquake is learned. Earthquake itself can be taught via TM too, but this would be a waste, since Donphan also learns it by level. The postgame exclusive Curse gives Donphan a remarkable edge in the postgame; notable defensive options include Sandstorm and Toxic. Recommended moveset: Earthquake, Return, Curse, Sandstorm / Toxic Recommended Teammates * Steel-types: Steel-types are very rare, but getting one is extremely useful for Donphan, since they are great at covering the elephant's weaknesses. The most common one, Magneton, is a good fit on teams where Donphan is also present. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Forretress, Scizor, Magneton, Skarmory * Electric-types: In absence of Steel-types, or as a complement, Electric-types can also help Donphan against its sworn enemies, particularly Water-types and dual Water/Ice-types. Water is very common in Johto, and there is little Donphan can do against a good Water Pokémon. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Raichu, Ampharos, Magneton, Electabuzz, Jolteon (Crystal only) * Special tanks: Though Donphan's HP are high, its Special Defense is below average. A special tank is not strictly necessary to cover it, but it would be wise to have one, since Donphan really struggles against special glass cannons like Alakazam. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Clefable, Gyarados, Hypno, Muk, Tentacruel, Lanturn * Fast hitters: Donphan's Speed is low, and Curse makes it even less likely to outspeed any given enemy. This is a major problem against special hitters, since Donphan is poorly covered against them; for this reason, a fast sweeper should be designated for the team. ** Good Pokémon that fit this description include, among others: Gengar, Alakazam, Tauros, Electabuzz, Jolteon (Crystal only), Espeon Other Phanpy's stats Donphan's stats * At what point in the game should I be evolved? There is no reason to delay Phanpy's evolution, which should happen before Morty; Donphan can do some good work against his Pokémon. * How good is the Phanpy line in a Nuzlocke? Pretty good on the physical side; the relatively early evolution gives it a strong mid-game, though the increased presence of special hitters in the late game and postgame prevents it from faring exceptionally, with its low Special Defense. It also hurts from not being able to learn a decent STAB move until just before the League, thereby needing to stick to Return to deal any damage at all. Though by no means bad, this Pokémon is also not as good as its base stats make it out to be. * Weaknesses: Water, Grass, Ice * Resistances: Poison, Rock * Immunities: Electric * Neutralities: Normal, Fighting, Flying, Ground, Bug, Ghost, Steel, Fire, Psychic, Dragon, Dark Category:Gold/Silver/Crystal Category:List of Evolutionary Lines with Completed Analyses